Due to the finite supply of fossil resources and societies ever increasing interest in the use of renewable resources for energy and materials, there is a major need for new chemicals and materials derived from renewable resources. With regard to polymers, aromatic building blocks are tremendously important. For example, commodity polymers such as polycarbonate and polyethylene terephthalate are based on aromatic monomers. While many renewable resources such as plant oils, carbohydrates, and sugars are aliphatic, there are a number of phenols that can be obtained from renewable sources. In fact, lignin, which is a complex polymer network of aromatic alcohols, known as monolignols, is one of the most abundant renewable resources on the planet. Lignin constitutes 30% of all organic carbon on the planet and 25 to 33% of the dry mass of wood.